270137 Third party reactions to victims (BS) (SoSe 2020)

Although the simple use of the word ‘victim’ is to denote a person who has suffered from a negative life event (most often a crime), the term comes equipped with a broad range of connotations. It is used to emphasize someone’s innocence, but also someone’s passivity or weakness; it is a label employed to grant someone particular rights, but also a label of stigmatization. Having a 'victim mentality’ is by no means a good thing, and several pronounced scholars have lamented the development of what they have coined a ‘victimhood culture’ (see, for instance, Lukianoff & Haidt’s book The coddling of the American mind, 2019). It is not surprising then, that victims are met with an equally broad range of reactions by their social surroundings. These third party reactions can include sympathy and support, but may also encompass reactions that can lead to secondary victimization. A number of theories have attempted to explain the occurrence of negative third party reactions to victims. Melvin Lerner, for instance, has theorized how the basic human need of the Belief in a Just World might motivate people to resolve justice related distress by derogating, avoiding, and indeed blaming victims for their fate.
This course will cover a number of important facets related to third party reactions to victims of injustice. First, it will focus on several theories that shed light on processes that may underlie specific reactions to victims. These theories include the System Justification Theory and Just World Theory, but broader theoretical concepts such as meaning making and framing are also covered. The main focus of the course is reactions to victims in the context of sexual violence. Hence, after discussing the more general theories, we will deliberate concepts more directly related to gender and sexual violence, such as gender stereotypes, hostile and benevolent sexism, and rape myth acceptance. Specific attention will be paid to third party reactions in the media and third party reactions in the courtroom. The final two sessions will be devoted to a discussion of the traditional ways of measuring observer reactions to victims, related methodological concerns, and alternative types of measurement.

Requirements for participation, required level

IMPORTANT: The first session of this block seminar will be held immediately after the joint preliminary meeting of the three seminars in Module 27-R (Bentler / Mulder / Paruzel), which will take place on Monday, the 6th of April from 12.00 to 14.00. (room tba).
Students intending to take this block seminar therefore MUST attend the preliminary meeting IN PERSON and stay on for the first seminar session (no exceptions).

This block seminar will be held in English. This means that *all* materials, communications, and correspondence will be in English. Participating students should thus be comfortable with reading English literature, completing English-language assignments, and contributing actively to discussions in English.

The block seminar forms part of BSc module 27-R (R.1 or R.2) and should be taken in either the fifth or sixth semester. The maximum number of students admitted is 30.

Bibliography

Exemplary texts (more tba):
Anderson, I. (2007). What is a typical rape? Effects of victim and participant gender in female and male rape perception. British Journal of Social Psychology, 46(1), 225-245.
Dunn, J. L. (2010). Vocabularies of victimization: Toward explaining the deviant victim. Deviant Behavior, 31(2), 159-183.
Glick, P., & Fiske, S. T. (2001). An ambivalent alliance: Hostile and benevolent sexism as complementary justifications for gender inequality. American Psychologist, 56(2), 109 - 118.
Kay, A. C., Jost, J. T., & Young, S. (2005). Victim derogation and victim enhancement as alternate routes to system justification. Psychological Science, 16(3), 240-246.
Lerner, M. J., & Simmons, C. H. (1966). Observer's reaction to the" innocent victim": Compassion or rejection?. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 4(2), 203-210.